Wayne State University will today launch an academic minor in Jewish Studies at a community reception at 6 p.m. at the McGregor Memorial Conference Center on Wayne State's Campus.

The event will feature remarks by Sara R. Horowitz, director of the Centre for Jewish Studies at York University and president of the Association for Jewish Studies.

The Jewish Studies Minor delves deep into Jewish history and culture through a broad range of courses that cover Biblical through contemporary times.

"Wayne State has had a commitment to Jewish Studies for many years," said Marc Kruman, chair of the Department of History in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. "Faculty, students and the broader Jewish community actively expressed their support for this ambitious next step."

Kruman added that Wayne State is now among many prestigious research universities nationwide that offer programs about Jewish civilization.

The Cohn-Haddow Center for Judaic Studies has linked the university to the metropolitan Jewish community since 1988. Wayne State now hopes to build upon the center's many successes through this interdisciplinary program that will engage students who are interested in learning about Jewish tradition and culture.

"The combined efforts of the Cohn-Haddow Center and Wayne State University's thriving Jewish community have created the momentum and interest necessary for the establishment of a Jewish Studies Minor," said Eugene Driker, chairman of Wayne State University's Board of Governors. "This new program fosters a greater appreciation for Jewish art, music and theater throughout the region."

Prior to the reception, Wayne State is hosting an afternoon seminar featuring Professor Horwitz about the works of Sarah Kofman, professor of philosophy at the Sorbonne and one of the world's preeminent post-World War II thinkers in France. Kofman's scholarship was wide-ranging and included work on Freud and psychoanalysis, Nietzsche, feminism and the role of women in Western philosophy, visual art, and literature. Events are free and open to the public.

For more information please visit, http://events.wayne.edu/view/11557/date/32964/

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